Arsene Wenger Explains Why he was Set to Drop Ramsey Before his Brilliant Turnaround

Arsene Wenger has revealed that constant abuse to Aaron Ramsey before his dramatic transformation had forced him to consider dropping the Welshman at home.

The 22-year-old has realised his potential this season and has already scored six goals in the league, the highest by a midfielder this season.

The player is also leading the table in terms of defensive contribution and assists, making him the most complete player in the league.

The Welshman is brimming with confidence, as was evidenced when the player attempted an audacious backheel which almost gave the Gunners the lead against Southampton.

This has been a turnaround of epic proportions for Ramsey, who till last season was plagued with defensive errors and was caught wanting on the ball.

Much of it was down to his injury, which saw him miss over a year of football after a tackle from Ryan Shawcross left him with a broken leg.

His mitakes last season were ridiculed with jeers from the crowd, for which Wenger had considered dropping him as he thought that the criticism would dampen his confidence.

"Let's not forget that one year ago people were saying to me, 'It's difficult to play him at the Emirates.' You could see there was an impatience with him at home. You always are, as a manager, in a period where you think, 'Do I push him through and he can go more down, or do you give him a breather - to regenerate, to get him a fresh start?', " Wenger said.

"That's always difficult for us to assess because it is linked to their mental state. When their own confidence is down, of course, they are in trouble. But he is a confident boy.

"You have to give Aaron credit for that transformation - the credit goes to him because he could deal with that. He has shown he could come back, never give up, convince everybody that he has the needed quality.

"He can become (world class). I think always you know what you want, I do not judge people when I look back at their career [on whether] they were world-class or not world-class. I always think, 'Has this guy done the maximum with the potential he had?' And the respect I have for a guy is how far has he gone towards his potential. I never think, 'Was he a world-class player or not?'," he concluded.